Hi,
I'm new to the site & in need of help. About a year and a half ago I rescued a male cat who was abandoned. He is absolutely beautiful with a long orange coat and green eyes. We have another cat (female) who is very social & frendly. She is about half the size of the male cat & is constantly being beaten up by him, he will start a fight with her for no appearant reason. Not only is he not nice to his fellow cat, he is not nice with my roommate & has bitten her, he is more tolerant of me, but I am at my wits end with him! Please does anyone have any advice for me? I want to keep him but if he can't live in harmony with the other cat & us I will be forced to find him a new home. :pawprint:

MOOSEDRY

October 8th, 2005, 09:15 PM

hi catrescue.

welcome to the boards. i waited for someone else to respond because i'm a newby myself, but then i decided that, newby or not, i think i can help you. here's my story:

hubby and i have three cats. two are nine year old sisters (patsy and cline). they are outdoor cats that we've had since they were kittens. about a year and a half ago, we introduced a new female kitten into the mix (punkin), who is going to be an indoor cat. anyway, it turned out she was very aggressive, attacking the two others right from the get-go. she would also attack me by playing a little too hard - she loooooooooved to bite!

well, i was determined to disagree with those who told me "you can't train it out of her, it's just the way she is". and i'm pleased to say my hard work has paid off. i did it by doing the following whenever it happened:

i'd chase behind her whenever she attacked one of the older girls, being very vocally displeased with her, while at the same time reassuring patsy or cline they weren't in trouble . i'd continue to chase punkin 'til i'd corner her into a room where i could lock her in for a "time-out" (20 minutes or so).

well, it's taken some time, but i've made progress. she still tries to get away with it the odd time (with patsy and cline, not with me), but not nearly as often. it has lessened quite a bit.

i guess all i'm trying to tell you is this: let your male cat know loud and clear that his behaviour is unacceptable. be consistent with your very firm displeasure. you'll wear him down over time. he'll get the message.

you obviously want to keep this cat - you've had him for a year and a half...

just trying to help. :thumbs up
tracy

Catrescue

October 8th, 2005, 10:04 PM

Thank you Tracy so much for your advice, I will start the "training" immediatly! :pawprint:

MOOSEDRY

October 8th, 2005, 11:01 PM

glad i could help. just remember - this will take some time, but you can achieve results if you're patient. it won't happen overnight, but it will happen!!!